Jeff Donnell

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Jeff Donnell
Born	Jean Marie Donnell July 10, 1921(1921-07-10) Windham, Maine, U.S.
Died	April 11, 1988 (aged 66) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Years active	1942 - 1988
Spouse(s)	William Anderson (1940-1953) Aldo Ray (1954-1956) John Bricker (1958-1963) Radcliffe Bealey (1974-1975)

"Jeff" Donnell (July 10, 1921 – April 11, 1988) was an American film and television actress. Her real name was Jean Marie Donnell. As a child, she adopted the nickname Jeff after the character in her favorite comic strip, Mutt and Jeff.^[1]

Donnell graduated from Towson High School, Towson, Maryland, in 1938 and attended the Leland Powers Drama School in Boston, Massachusetts. Later, she studied at the Yale School of Drama.^[1] She was signed to a contract by Columbia Pictures in 1942 and later had roles in some RKO films.

She was not a major star, but she did have a lengthy film and television career in various supporting roles, including the role of Gidget's mother, "Dorothy Lawrence", opposite Carl Reiner in the 1961 movie Gidget Goes Hawaiian.

Her other notable appearances in movies and television include:

• "Winnie Slade" in The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942)
• Doughboys in Ireland (1943)
• "Butch" in Nine Girls (1944)
• "Alice Gobel" in the George Gobel TV show (1954-1958)
• "Miriam Fisher" in The Iron Maiden (1962; released in the U.S. as Swinging Maiden)
• "Cornelia", an instructor pilot in Tora, Tora, Tora (1970)
• "Stella Fields" in the TV soap opera General Hospital (1980-1988)

Jean "Jeff" Donnell died of a heart attack on April 11, 1988. Her sudden absence from General Hospital, on which she had a recurring role as the Quartermaines' housekeeper at the time of her death, was explained by the writers as her having won the lottery and quit her job.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Jeff Donnell at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
NAME	Donnell, Jeff
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Donnell, Jean Marie
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Actor
DATE OF BIRTH	1921-7-10
PLACE OF BIRTH	Windham, Maine, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH	1988-4-11
PLACE OF DEATH	Los Angeles, California, U.S.